Daily Gospel Reflection for February 10, 2018 - St. Scholastica

“My heart is moved with pity for the crowd…” Jesus says in today’s Gospel. When we hear the word “pity,” what do we think? Perhaps the word “pitiful” comes to mind. No one wants to be “pitied” or “the object of charity”, because that would indicate a poverty or deficiency on our part, right?

Some of the worst homilies on this Gospel passage have tried to say that this is not the story of a real miracle… just the “miracle of sharing.” This interpretation is lacking in so many ways. Obviously, this is the story of an actual miracle – a supernatural act performed by God made man, revealing God’s goodness and love. So why are we hesitant to accept that? Perhaps it is because of that word, “pity”.

If you have ever parented a three-year-old, you know they are a determined little species. Three-year-olds are convinced that they can do everything by themselves. We, as their parents, know they can’t. They need us. They are lovingly, adorably pitiful.

The difference between ourselves and our three-year-olds is only a matter of decades. The difference between ourselves and God, however, is unfathomable! We are little and precious in His sight.

Yet, like a three-year-old, we like to insist we don’t need Him. We like to insist that we can do everything by ourselves.

Then we encounter a Gospel passage like this one, and we see ourselves through the eyes of Jesus. How very little we are, compared to Him. How in need of his pity we are. And yet…how very, very precious we are in his sight.

We need the miraculous to remind us how much we need God. We need these reminders of our littleness. We need this assurance – He will always provide.